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Seattle University Law Review

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Articles 121 - 150 of 162

Full-Text Articles in Environmental Law

Executive Constraint, Judicial Uncertainty, And Legislative Complacency: Washington Responds With A Progressive Approach To Climate Change, Daniel A. Brown Jan 2008

Executive Constraint, Judicial Uncertainty, And Legislative Complacency: Washington Responds With A Progressive Approach To Climate Change, Daniel A. Brown

Seattle University Law Review

This Comment argues that Washington's renewable energy tax incentives likely discriminate against interstate commerce. More importantly, however, it contends that although these types of tax incentives violate the Commerce Clause, Congress can and should pass legislation authorizing their use under the state police power.


Chinks In The Armor: Municipal Authority To Enact Shoreline Permit Moratoria After Biggers V. City Of Bainbridge Island, Ryan M. Carson Jan 2007

Chinks In The Armor: Municipal Authority To Enact Shoreline Permit Moratoria After Biggers V. City Of Bainbridge Island, Ryan M. Carson

Seattle University Law Review

Why would a relatively mundane dispute over what amounts to a few cubic yards of concrete warrant the extensive discussion encom passed in this Note? This dispute gives rise to a fundamental question about power: What is the scope of municipal power under one of Washington's most important environmental protection laws? Additionally, questions arise about competing normative values within environmental protection, property rights, and responsible land use and development. Placed against a backdrop of growing contentiousness surrounding these issues in Washington politics, the relevance and timeliness of these questions cannot be doubted.


Dynamic Conservation Easements: Facing The Problem Of Perpetuity In Land Conservation, Duncan M. Greene Jan 2005

Dynamic Conservation Easements: Facing The Problem Of Perpetuity In Land Conservation, Duncan M. Greene

Seattle University Law Review

Compared to traditional, static conservation easements, dynamic conservation easements capable of accommodating change over time are better suited to serving their unique conservation purposes. As a result, they are more likely to fulfill their promise to protect the land in perpetuity. For the purposes of this Comment, a "static conservation easement" is an easement whose terms provide unchanging land use restrictions. By contrast, a "dynamic conservation easement" is one whose terms provide land use restrictions that may change over time. Part II of the article provides a primer on land trusts and their use of conservation easements and discusses problems …


The Alaska Statehood Act Does Not Guarantee Alaska Ninety Percent Of The Revenue From Mineral Leases On Federal Lands In Alaska, Ivan L. Ascott Jan 2004

The Alaska Statehood Act Does Not Guarantee Alaska Ninety Percent Of The Revenue From Mineral Leases On Federal Lands In Alaska, Ivan L. Ascott

Seattle University Law Review

This Comment argues that Alaska's position that Congress purposefully incorporated the Mineral Leasing Act into the Statehood Act through section 28(b), and in doing so, permanently granted the state ninety percent of the revenues from mineral development on federal lands, is legally incorrect. The text of the Act simply does not support the position that mineral-lease and royalty proceeds from federal lands are part of Alaska's "compact." In addition, the legislative history of the Act does not support Alaska's position, nor does case law that has addressed related issues. Following this Introduction, Part II of this Comment expands on Alaska's …


A Less Tragic Commons?: Using Harvester And Processor Quotas To Address Crab Overfishing, Avi Brisman Jan 2003

A Less Tragic Commons?: Using Harvester And Processor Quotas To Address Crab Overfishing, Avi Brisman

Seattle University Law Review

Part II of this Comment provides a brief overview of the history of the Magnuson Act. Part III describes the current status of the BSAI crab fisheries and the need for crab rationalization. In Part IV, this Comment examines NPFMC's preferred alternative—the three-pie voluntary cooperative program as set forth in its Bering Sea Crab Rationalization Program Alternatives: Public Review Draft (May, 2002) and Summary of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council's Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Crab Rationalization Program Submitted to the United States Congress, August, 2002. Part V looks at the legal issues surrounding processor quotas, focusing specifically on …


A Call To Restructure Existing International Environmental Law In Light Of Africa's Renaissance: The United Nations Convention To Combat Desertification And The New Partnership For Africa's Development (Nepad), Leslie C. Clark Jan 2003

A Call To Restructure Existing International Environmental Law In Light Of Africa's Renaissance: The United Nations Convention To Combat Desertification And The New Partnership For Africa's Development (Nepad), Leslie C. Clark

Seattle University Law Review

This Comment warns that recent, continent-wide economic development strategies have threatened the ability of Africa to combat desertification. Therefore, the existing desertification treaty, UNCCD, must be amended to ensure its ability to effectuate environmental protection.


Elimination Of The Depletion Deduction For Fossil Fuels, Wendy B. Davis Jan 2002

Elimination Of The Depletion Deduction For Fossil Fuels, Wendy B. Davis

Seattle University Law Review

This article argues that the depletion deduction provision is a misguided incentive that has been falsely analogized and justified, and it should be abolished in order to provide funds to protect and preserve the environment. The additional revenue generated should be used to encourage the development of renewable resources and to remediate the harm caused by the extraction and use of fossil fuels. Specifically, the depletion deduction for reduction in the supply of nonrenewable resources such as coal and oil should be eliminated to (1) ensure certain and equal treatment under the tax laws; (2) encourage development of renewable energy …


The Gap Between Informational Goals And The Duty To Gather Information: Challenging Piecemealed Review Under The Washington State Environmental Policy Act, Keith H. Hirokawa Jan 2001

The Gap Between Informational Goals And The Duty To Gather Information: Challenging Piecemealed Review Under The Washington State Environmental Policy Act, Keith H. Hirokawa

Seattle University Law Review

In 1971, Washington enacted the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA), which requires agencies to make a threshold determination of whether a project is likely to significantly affect the environment and, where such impacts are likely, to produce an environmental impact statement (EIS). One problem faced in implementing the goals of SEPA is the practice of "piecemealing." Part I of this Article introduces the piecemeal problem by describing three common piecemeal situations. The first situation occurs when a project proposal is divided into such small parts that the environmental impacts from each individual part appear insignificant and the impact from the …


Salmon On The Brink: The Imperative Of Integrating Environmental Standards And Review On An Ecosystem Scale, Dianne K. Conway, Daniel S. Evans Jan 2000

Salmon On The Brink: The Imperative Of Integrating Environmental Standards And Review On An Ecosystem Scale, Dianne K. Conway, Daniel S. Evans

Seattle University Law Review

This Article examines the interplay between the Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act, the necessity of applying these statutes under an ecosystem or watershed based model, and the need to coordinate and integrate standards and review processes under the acts. The concept of watershed management is summarized in Part II, and Part III gives a brief overview of the two statutes and their implementation. Part IV focuses on the opportunities for, and necessity of, streamlining and integrating the standards and review under the two statutes to support the integrated, place-based, management model envisioned by a watershed approach. We conclude …


A Trust For All The People: Rethinking The Management Of Washington's State Forests, Daniel Jack Chasan Jan 2000

A Trust For All The People: Rethinking The Management Of Washington's State Forests, Daniel Jack Chasan

Seattle University Law Review

In this Article, I will first point out that neither the federal Enabling Act nor the Washington Constitution explicitly requires the state to hold its granted lands in trust for the common schools or other named institutions. Next, I will argue that even if the granted lands are trusts, they are not common law trusts and therefore should not be managed under common law trust principles. Third, I will demonstrate that neither Congress nor the framers of the Washington Constitution expected the lands to generate maximum revenue. Fourth, I will show that preventing thefts and giveaways of public land and …


The Endangered Species Act: Does "Endangered" Refer To Species, Private Property Rights, The Act Itself, Or All Of The Above?, Diana Kirchheim Jan 1999

The Endangered Species Act: Does "Endangered" Refer To Species, Private Property Rights, The Act Itself, Or All Of The Above?, Diana Kirchheim

Seattle University Law Review

This Comment will focus on the current problems of the ESA and suggest how the ESA can be rewritten to accommodate both environmental and private property interests. Section I will discuss procedure under the ESA. In Section II, the Comment examines the controversial "harm" definition frequently arising in ESA litigation. In Section III, the Comment will dispel the myth that the ESA is currently operating as originally intended and will discuss the reasons why private property owners criticize the current ESA. Section IV will examine a proposal for reauthorizing the ESA written by Senator Dirk Kempthorne (R-Idaho) that Congress failed …


The Proposed Environmental Justice Act: "I Have A (Green) Dream", Claire L. Hasler Jan 1994

The Proposed Environmental Justice Act: "I Have A (Green) Dream", Claire L. Hasler

Seattle University Law Review

This Comment addresses the concept of environmental racism, the tools that have been used to fight it, and the proposed Environmental Justice Act of 1993. Part II begins with an examination of the evidence minority communities have relied on as proof that environmental racism exists. The evidence contained in numerous articles clearly shows inequalities in the amounts of environmental and health hazards minority communities bear, and this evidence validates the existence of pervasive environmental injustice in our society. Part III addresses the limited case law involving attempts by minority communities to challenge perceived environmental racism and assesses the effectiveness of …


The Concurrency Requirement Of The Washington State Growth Management Act, Thomas M. Walsh, Roger A. Pearce Jan 1993

The Concurrency Requirement Of The Washington State Growth Management Act, Thomas M. Walsh, Roger A. Pearce

Seattle University Law Review

When the Washington State Legislature enacted the Growth Management Act (GMA) in 1990, it established a concurrency requirement in the transportation area and authorized local governments to establish concurrency requirements in other areas such as schools, parks, and public services. This Article seeks to inform the debate as to the GMA's requirements for concurrency regulations, the key issues in implementing concurrency regulations, and statutory and constitutional limits on the implementation of regulations. After detailing the GMA's transportation concurrency requirement, the Article will discuss whether the GMA requires concurrency for public facilities other than transportation, will highlight the key issues in …


Guidance For Growth: A Symposium On Washington State's Growth Management Act, Kimberly L. Deasy, Brian L. Holtzclaw Jan 1993

Guidance For Growth: A Symposium On Washington State's Growth Management Act, Kimberly L. Deasy, Brian L. Holtzclaw

Seattle University Law Review

No abstract provided.


Planner's Panacea Or Pandora's Box: A Realistic Assessment Of The Role Of Urban Growth Areas In Achieving Growth Management Goals, Keith W. Dearborn, Ann M. Gygi Jan 1993

Planner's Panacea Or Pandora's Box: A Realistic Assessment Of The Role Of Urban Growth Areas In Achieving Growth Management Goals, Keith W. Dearborn, Ann M. Gygi

Seattle University Law Review

Over the past twenty years, Urban Growth Areas (UGAs) have become a tool of choice to manage growth. Numerous states and local jurisdictions have mandated UGAs in hope of confining urbanization, reducing sprawl, protecting open space and resource lands, and minimizing infrastructure investment. Washington State joined the trend in 1990 when it adopted the Growth Management Act (GMA), which requires certain counties to establish UGAs as a central component of its "bottom up" growth management strategy. Nonetheless, thoughtful criticisms have been offered regarding the utility of UGAs to accomplish intended growth management goals, and concerns have emerged regarding unintended consequences …


Takings Law, Lucas, And The Growth Management Act, John M. Groen, Richard M. Stephens Jan 1993

Takings Law, Lucas, And The Growth Management Act, John M. Groen, Richard M. Stephens

Seattle University Law Review

In light of Lucas and the recent constitutionally questionable Washington decisions, government entities charged with implementing the GMA may have a more difficult time avoiding takings liability than previously thought. Accordingly, this Article first seeks to clarify the modern takings analysis as refined by Lucas. Second, Washington takings precedent is contrasted with the federal approach and several key changes are suggested to make state law consistent with controlling federal precedent. Third, key aspects of the GMA are identified that can be expected to raise takings implications. By identifying potential trouble spots in the GMA now, hopefully some takings will …


Economic Development And Public Transit: Making The Most Of The Washington Growth Management Act, Robert H. Freilich, Elizabeth A. Garvin, S. Mark White Jan 1993

Economic Development And Public Transit: Making The Most Of The Washington Growth Management Act, Robert H. Freilich, Elizabeth A. Garvin, S. Mark White

Seattle University Law Review

Rapid and unplanned urban growth in the urbanizing and rural fringe areas of the United States has led to numerous problems for state, local, and regional governments. In particular, six crises are readily identifiable, each of which threatens to undermine quality of life and local competitive economic advantage. These crises include the following: (1) deterioration of central cities, first-ring suburbs, and closer-in neighborhoods, resulting in depopulation and abandonment of housing and the employment base; (2) spiraling suburban sprawl, creating massive infrastructure as well as energy costs; (3) loss of prime agricultural lands; (4) environmental crises and threats to open space, …


The Growth Management Revolution In Washington: Past, Present, And Future, Richard L. Settle, Charles G. Gavigan Jan 1993

The Growth Management Revolution In Washington: Past, Present, And Future, Richard L. Settle, Charles G. Gavigan

Seattle University Law Review

Since near misses nearly twenty years ago, comprehensive reform of Washington land use regulatory legislation has been simmering on the back burner. In 1989, the pot began to boil. Central Puget Sound area motorists fumed in "gridlock" traffic. They denounced dense, downtown development, fretted over soaring housing prices, and lamented the loss of forests, farms, and salmon-spawning streams. Thus, the growth management revolution was fomented not by the poor and downtrodden, nor by academic theorists, but by the middle-class suburban masses who sensed escalating degradation of community, environment, and quality of life. They demanded change. The revolutionary battles were fought …


Regulation Of Wetlands In Western Washington Under The Growth Management Act, Alison Moss, Beverlee E. Silva Jan 1993

Regulation Of Wetlands In Western Washington Under The Growth Management Act, Alison Moss, Beverlee E. Silva

Seattle University Law Review

Wetlands protection has long been an important issue in the central Puget Sound. With the passage of the Growth Management Act (GMA), all counties and cities within the state are now required to adopt regulations "protecting" critical areas, including wetlands. This requirement furthers the GMA's environmental goal to "[p]rotect the environment and enhance the state's high quality of life, including air and water quality, and the availability of water." This Article will explore these and related issues arising under the wetlands regulatory scheme in Washington following the adoption of the GMA. It will show how this complex, multi-layered regulation scheme …


The Protection Of Wildlife Under Washington's Growth Management Act, Alan D. Copsey Jan 1993

The Protection Of Wildlife Under Washington's Growth Management Act, Alan D. Copsey

Seattle University Law Review

Will critical areas and resource lands, as implemented under the GMA, effectively contribute to the conservation of wildlife and wildlife habitat in Washington? The remainder of this Article will address that question. First, this Article briefly describes some aspects of biological diversity that must be understood before proceeding further. Second, it sets forth several central principles from modern conservation biology that are essential for maintaining habitat integrity and species viability and considers their applicability to critical areas and resource lands, as defined by the GMA. Third, it explains how these principles could be used to identify and protect habitat remnants …


Is The Growth Management Act Working? A Survey Of Resource Lands And Critical Areas Development Regulations, Gary Pivo Jan 1993

Is The Growth Management Act Working? A Survey Of Resource Lands And Critical Areas Development Regulations, Gary Pivo

Seattle University Law Review

Section II of this Article begins with a summary of Washington's statutory requirements for both local resource land and critical area development regulations. Section II then reviews the circumstances under which those regulations have been adopted. Section III describes the methods used by the research team to collect and evaluate those regulations. Section IV examines whether Washington counties and cities have met their adoption deadlines. Section V describes the general approaches being taken for meeting those requirements. Section VI compares the regulations to one another in order to judge their consistency and relative restrictiveness throughout Washington. Section VII looks at …


Between Scylla And Charybdis: Growth Management Act Implementation That Avoids Takings And Substantive Due Process Limitations, Jeffrey M. Eustis Jan 1993

Between Scylla And Charybdis: Growth Management Act Implementation That Avoids Takings And Substantive Due Process Limitations, Jeffrey M. Eustis

Seattle University Law Review

This Article begins with an overview of the GMA. It then proceeds with a summary of recent case law under the Takings Clause and substantive due process doctrine. After laying this groundwork, this Article focuses on four particular areas of growth management control and explores how local legislation implementing these areas of control would be analyzed under the Takings Clause and substantive due process. These four areas of land use regulation include: critical area protections, resource land designations, development phasing requirements for concurrency and urban growth areas, and impact fees for public facilities and services. This Article then concludes with …


Dashed "Investment-Backed" Expectations: Will The Constitution Protect Property Owners From Excesses In Implementation Of The Growth Management Act?, Elaine Spencer Jan 1993

Dashed "Investment-Backed" Expectations: Will The Constitution Protect Property Owners From Excesses In Implementation Of The Growth Management Act?, Elaine Spencer

Seattle University Law Review

Section I briefly discusses the basic principles of takings law as enunciated by prior cases, as well as the United States Supreme Court's recent decision in Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council, and the Washington Supreme Court's recent decisions in Sintra, Inc. v. Seattle and Robinson v. Seattle. Although the Lucas decision has received considerable publicity, it advanced the state of the law rather little. The real guidance for future decisions arising out of the GMA will come from earlier United States Supreme Court decisions and the Washington Supreme Court's decisions in Sintra, Robinson, and Lutheran …


Denying Private Attorney Fee Recovery Under Cercla: Bad Law And Bad Policy, Karen M. Mcgaffey Jan 1993

Denying Private Attorney Fee Recovery Under Cercla: Bad Law And Bad Policy, Karen M. Mcgaffey

Seattle University Law Review

This Article argues that the Ninth Circuit decision in Stanton Road was wrong. Section II of this Article describes the majority and dissenting opinions in Stanton Road. Section III argues that the majority misread Supreme Court precedent, leading it to adopt an excessively formalistic approach to statutory construction. It argues that the majority should have used traditional approaches to statutory construction and that those approaches would have produced a different result. Finally, the Article concludes by arguing that the Ninth Circuit's decision distorts the intent of Congress in enacting CERCLA and hinders private efforts to clean up hazardous waste.


Noah's Farce: The Regulation And Control Of Exotic Fish And Wildlife, John L. Dentler Jan 1993

Noah's Farce: The Regulation And Control Of Exotic Fish And Wildlife, John L. Dentler

Seattle University Law Review

This Comment examines the dangers inherent in exotic species and evaluates federal and Washington State efforts to regulate the introduction of exotic fish and wildlife. Current federal and state law is poorly equipped to prevent the introduction of harmful exotic species or remedy damages caused by them. The laws governing exotic species should be changed through (1) the enactment of more stringent laws prohibiting or regulating the introduction of exotic species, (2) statutorily created rights to recover for natural resource damage caused by the introduction of exotic species, (3) private rights of action to recover for personal injury or property …


Sepa: A Proposed Standard For Judicial Review Of Agency Decisions Not To Require Preparation Of A Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, Lori Ann Terry Jan 1992

Sepa: A Proposed Standard For Judicial Review Of Agency Decisions Not To Require Preparation Of A Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, Lori Ann Terry

Seattle University Law Review

To enable citizens opposing projects and proponents defending projects to predict more accurately the results of litigation and to discourage spurious litigation, a more definitive standard of judicial review is necessary. This Article proposes a standard of judicial review that encompasses components of both the adequacy and negative threshold standards of judicial review. The proposed standard of review discourages lawsuits that are brought merely for purposes of delay while ensuring that the agency acted reasonably in making its determination. Before this new standard can be considered, the context in which it will operate must be reviewed. Part II of this …


Preserving Rural Gas Stations: State Financial Assistance For Underground Petroleum Storage Tanks, John S. Conniff, Charles G. Gavigan Jan 1991

Preserving Rural Gas Stations: State Financial Assistance For Underground Petroleum Storage Tanks, John S. Conniff, Charles G. Gavigan

Seattle University Law Review

This Article briefly reviews environmental regulations requiring the upgrading of Underground Storage Tankss, analyzes the development and implementation of the new financial assistance program, and considers the constitutionality of the program in light of state ing of credit prohibitions.


Boeing Co. V. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co.: Cercla Response Costs Covered "As Damages" Under Comprehensive General Liability Insurance Policies , Kimberly A. Richter Jan 1991

Boeing Co. V. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co.: Cercla Response Costs Covered "As Damages" Under Comprehensive General Liability Insurance Policies , Kimberly A. Richter

Seattle University Law Review

This Comment will examine the CERCLA provisions that empower the government to clean up dangerous hazardous waste sites and to seek reimbursement of clean-up costs from polluters. It will then outline the standard provisions of CGL policies, which require insurers to indemnify insureds for all costs incurred "as damages" under the terms of the policy. Next, the Comment will set forth the two primary methods of interpretation employed by courts to determine whether CERCLA response costs are covered damages under CGL policies. The Comment will then set forth Washington law which provided the foundation for the Washington Supreme Court's decision …


Oil And The Public Trust Doctrine In Washington, Ralph W. Johnson Jan 1991

Oil And The Public Trust Doctrine In Washington, Ralph W. Johnson

Seattle University Law Review

During the past 15 years, in half the United States, more than 100 reported cases involving the public trust doctrine have had a major impact on natural resources protection. In Washington, two key cases decided in 1987 give major support to the public trust doctrine. In Caminiti v. Boyle, the court affirmed that the public trust doctrine is the law of this state and always has been. In Orion Corporation v. State, the court upheld the classification of private tidelands as open space and stated that classification that prohibits fill for residential housing and development raises no constitutional …


Death By Sepa: Substantive Denials Under Washington's State Environmental Policy Act, Roger Pearce Jan 1990

Death By Sepa: Substantive Denials Under Washington's State Environmental Policy Act, Roger Pearce

Seattle University Law Review

This Comment seeks to answer the question raised by West Main II and Cougar Mountain of what procedural processes and substantive policies may be used in SEPA-based denials. After examining the nature of substantive SEPA authority and the relationship between substantive SEPA and Washington's vested rights doctrine, the Comment will discuss West Main II and Cougar Mountain and will argue that the two cases are consistent. It will then provide an informative assessment of the current limits of substantive SEPA authority. The Comment concludes by suggesting the following legislative or judicial changes in SEPA law: earlier vesting of SEPA policies, …